


Mistletoe and coffee-stained kisses

by allegedlyanandroid



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: And Act Accordingly, Banter, Blatant Flirting, Christmas Vibes, Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Siblings, Developing Relationship, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:34:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28223238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allegedlyanandroid/pseuds/allegedlyanandroid
Summary: Nines has an epiphany one evening. Somehow, without his knowledge, he's managed to fall in love with his ill-mannered, gremlin of a partner. Fortunately for him, Gavin seems to feel the same way. Though... Gavin Reed is also a dumbass and about as far from being in touch with his emotions as humanly possible.No matter... Nines is an RK900 after all and wooing his partner can't bethathard, right?
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 10
Kudos: 93





	Mistletoe and coffee-stained kisses

**Author's Note:**

> Me: I'm going to write something short and sweet for Christmas!  
> Also me: Why the fuck is this 7k long, what happened here?? Who authorised this??? Excuse-????

**Mistletoe and coffee-stained kisses**

Gavin wakes with a start. He sits up and frowns while trying to remember when he’d left for the bedroom.

He comes up short.

Slowly he swings his legs over the edge of the bed and walks towards the bedroom door which stands slightly ajar. He hadn’t expected to find Nines still sitting on his couch, unmoving but for the lazy blue circling of his LED, making no move to acknowledge Gavin’s slow approach. Though, before he can do anything, he’s forced to take a detour since his two yowling cats are very vocal about their late dinner. Even so, his thoughts stray to the android who’s carved a place for himself in Gavin’s life.

It’s not the first or second or even the fifteenth time Nines has come over to his apartment. Sure, he’s never stayed the night but when Gavin noticed him working late and arriving early as shit every morning, curiosity had gotten the better of him. He’d asked if Nines had a place to stay. The android had stared blankly at him in lieu of an answer. That had been the first time Gavin willingly let him into his home and eventually it developed into a habit. Frequency dulled Gavin’s disdain for having people over, or well... Nines specifically anyway, until it felt as natural as breathing to see Nines curled up in one corner of the couch with a cat in his lap. Now whenever he packs his things away in the afternoon Nines will already be waiting by his side. A silent shadow following him around.

Gavin goes back to gently shake Nines’ shoulder. “You okay?”

Nines’ lids flutter open, eyes remaining unfocused for a short moment before settling on Gavin. He can’t remember powering down to enter stasis. However, he notices his battery levels are still dangerously low so it must have been a recent development. “Did you say something?”

“I asked if you were okay,” Gavin repeats, removing his hand and taking a small step back to distance himself.

“I was in stasis. It is the android way of sleeping I suppose,” Nines replies, feeling a brief stinging flash of disappointment when Gavin moves away.

“Huh, maybe you should get some rest.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

“I’m sorry, what? Could you repeat that?” Gavin exclaims in mock-surprise, placing a hand on his chest and taking a staggering step back.

“Why? Are you senile or hard of hearing?” Nines teases back as he moves to stand.

“To hell with you tin-can! I’m just wondering what sort of malfunction finally made you able to admit I’m right.”

“The times may be few and far between but every once in a while, you do have a valid point.”

“You’re such a dick.”

“Says pot to the kettle,” Nines deadpans as Gavin follows him to the door.

Gavin huffs but doesn’t refute his claim. Instead, he leans against the wall, arms crossed to show his irritation, while Nines puts on his shoes. He’s still looking when Nines straightens up. ‘Fucking asshole, being that tall,’ he thinks mutinously as he glares up at his partner, hating how he sometimes arrives home with a crick in the neck from looking up for too long.

As if Nines knows where his thoughts are, he offers a small smirk and a quiet: “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sure.”

When the door clicks shut Nines sends a message to his brother to ask if his offer of counsel still stands to which he receives an energetic ‘of course!’ back.

How one manages to sound enthusiastic in a line of zeroes and ones is beyond him.

-~-

Nines raps his knuckles against the door and then immediately opens it to slip inside, knowing full well that Connor would keep it unlocked for him. A loud barking and scuttling of claws can be heard before Hank’s ginormous St. Bernard’s knocks into his legs and begins drooling all over his slacks. With a fond sigh, Nines bends down slightly to scratch behind his ears and then removes himself to go find his older brother.

Connor lays sprawled across the couch with his head in Hank’s lap. He lifts his head slightly and gives Nines a half-hearted wave in greeting before settling back down. “What do you want?”

“Well, you certainly waste no time,” Nines says drily, giving Hank a nod in greeting to which he gets one in return. Nines moves to sit down on the floor and places his head on Connor’s thighs before tilting his head back to stare up at the ceiling.

“My apologies. Would you rather we spoke about the weather first? Should I offer you something to eat? A drink perhaps?” Connor asks, voice equally as dry as Nines’ had been. A second later Nines picks up on the unmistakable sound of Hank snickering in the background.

“You have no manners.”

Connor hums in agreement. “I find it refreshing to deviate from my learnt social relations programming.”

“Evidently.” Nines falls silent for a moment. “I am unsure about certain aspects of my relationship with Detective Reed.”

“Elaborate.”

“I am uncertain of how to categorise various emotions in correlation to his actions and behaviours, or the input I receive from being in his presence.”

“I see...”

“You don’t seem surprised.”

Connor gives him a small smile. “Not really, no. The frequency in which you started showing signs of deviancy accelerated after you were partnered with Detective Reed. I know that we broke through most of your coding when we awakened you but... you’ve really grown as a person since then.” Connor offers a hand. “Would you like help to sort through them?”

Nines turns the request over in his head, taking a moment to truly ponder over what _he_ wants. It’s something they’ve done countless times before, interfacing to share information and offer insight, but for some reason he is [reluctant] to share these memories with Connor. Still, he clasps Connor’s forearm with his hand and lets the skin recede to show the plastic beneath; a blue glow seeping through the cracks of his joints.

Interfacing takes a few seconds to get used to. There’s always a lot of information being passed through the participants, so much data to sift through and store. Nines makes sure to push the last few months’ happenings to the forefront of his mind, excluding the parts he feels Gavin wouldn’t want him to share; those rare moments of vulnerability he offers in quiet whispers and late evenings. In return there’s Hank and Sumo and work along with second-hand emotions.

They both disengage at the same time, Connor blinking rapidly several times and Nines staring unfocused into space as the remaining data is examined, reviewed and filed away.

“Huh, I didn’t know Detective Reed was capable of smiling.”

“Connor, focus,” Nines says, exasperated. The tone of voice he only ever uses on his brother (and occasionally Gavin).

“You know... for someone as incredibly smart as you, you’re remarkably dense when you want to be.”

Nines lets out a snarl and twists around to tackle Connor deeper into the couch, to the tune of Hank’s excessive swearing. In the sudden scrambling that follows beer sloshes from the neck of the bottle to stain his shirt and he hastily abandons the couch-turned-warzone. Connor ends up pinned down with Nines straddling his upper thighs. With a wicked smirk, Nines digs the fingers of his unoccupied hand into his Connor’s unprotected sides, repeatedly, until clear fluid is staining his brother’s cheeks and he’s unable to speak through hiccupping giggles.

“St-ha-hah-hp!” Connor forces out when it becomes clear Nines won’t cease his onslaught without prompting and Hank had vacated the room with a tired sigh and an amused shake of the head, effectively leaving Connor to his doom.

Nines trails his fingers down Connor’s sensitive ribs one more time before mercifully stopping and collapsing on top of him with his arms folded on Connor’s chest and his head resting on top of them. “You’re a menace and I don’t know why I keep you around.”

“Likewise,” Connor sniffles as he swabs the palm of his hand over his cheeks to remove the fluids staining them. He looks at his hand then down at Nines before brushing it off on Nines’ clothes.

“Gross.”

Connor sticks his tongue out at him and lets his arms rest over his brother’s shoulder blades in a loose hug. “You’re in love with him.”

Nines sighs.

“If it’s any consolation I think Reed has feelings for you too. Though, I can’t say to which degree.”

“So what do I do?”

“That’s entirely up to you. However, if you do end up together, I reserve the right to threaten him with bodily harm if he ever hurts you.”

Nines hardly needs to think it over. “How would you go about wooing a stubborn, caffeine-addicted, emotionally repressed, cat-loving human?”

Connor lets out a slight laugh. “I have absolutely no idea. It might be easiest to just... tell him.”

“I’d rather not,” Nines grimaces.

“You’re afraid he might reject you?”

“There’s the issue of incompatibility to consider. Also, did I mention he’s stubborn?”

“Lingering prejudices against our kind might sway his decision to the negative,” Connor thinks out loud, in a tone far too chipper for the direction their conversation is heading. “Then again... he’d most likely change his mind after panicking about it a while.” Connor meets Nines’ eyes. “And if he chooses to reject you based solely upon your sexual orientation, or rather lack thereof, that’s his prerogative. Maybe start small and if he doesn’t get it, tell him outright.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Nines concedes. They keep conversing, weighing the pros and cons of certain actions. Somewhere throughout, they both shift around and end up twined further together, Nines still resting mostly on top of Connor.

Nines feels himself slipping further towards stasis and nods affirmatively at Connor’s murmured “Are you staying the night?”

That’s how Hank finds them when he comes back to the living room. He pauses in towelling his hair dry at the sight of the two androids cuddled up and sleeping on his couch. With a snort of amusement, he gives in to the temptation of snapping a few pictures to use as blackmail material. Hank covers them both with a nearby blanket and turns the television off before retreating to his own room with a small smile lingering over his lips.

-~-

Nines wakes up in much the same position he’d fallen asleep in, about a half hour before the sun is set to rise. Given how long he’d remained in stasis it’s evident he’d been running on too little energy for far too long.

He quietly and carefully disentangles himself from his brother’s sleeping form before placing the blanket back over him and moving to the kitchen. He refills Sumo’s bowls, first putting out fresh water and then filling the second with dog food. Sumo devours it quickly, much to Nines’ amusement. When done, Sumo stares up at him with dark, sad eyes and Nines crumbles under them. Since feeding him more wouldn’t be the best of ideas, Nines sinks down to sit cross-legged on the floor and starts scratching Sumo behind the ears. He remains there for quite some time, stroking the soft fur beneath his hands while deep in thought.

By the time the sun is up, and Connor pads into the kitchen on bare feet, Sumo has migrated to laying across Nines’ lap. It’s cause enough for Connor’s mouth to tic up into an amused smile. “Good morning,” he says, bending down slightly to stroke down Sumo’s flank.

Nines echoes the statement to the steady rhythm of Sumo’s tail thumping against the tiles. “I was planning on leaving soon,” he says. He wants to change his clothing and possibly shower before pestering Gavin about work.

“I bid you luck with that,” Connor smirks, already moving around the kitchen with familiar ease, opening cupboards and pulling out various food items.

“I’m more than capable of moving him myself.”

“I know.” Nevertheless, Connor lures Sumo away with the promise of a walk and Nines thanks him with a curt nod. They exchange farewells by calling each other “affectionate” insults while Hank’s next-door neighbour looks on in suspicion. It takes another half an hour for Nines to get back to his apartment. With a sigh, he fishes the keys out of his pocket and unlocks the door.

It’s always a depressing sight. The wooden floors are bare, same as the walls, and white is the predominant colour. There’s a small kitchenette tucked in the right corner of the one-bedroom apartment and Nines has never found use for it other than stocking the small fridge with thirium pouches. The queen-sized bed pushed into the allocated sleeping alcove remains mostly unused and there isn’t even a curtain separating it from the rest of the room. A small cactus (a housewarming gift from Connor) sits on top of his dresser. It’s just... sparse, and not for lack of trying either. Nines wants to make it feel like home. There’s just too much to choose from and every time he tries to sift through the plethora of options available it overwhelms him.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Nines methodically removes his clothing and steps into the bathroom. It takes no time at all to wash off and towel himself dry though he finds himself hesitating by the dresser. Most of his clothes are similar in appearance, for much the same reason as his inability to choose interior decorating. Nines settles for the usual dark jeans and black, long-sleeved shirt although he leaves his jacket where it is.

When he knocks on Gavin’s door at seven-thirty in the morning Gavin opens it and looks at him with one eyebrow raised, bleary-eyed and sleep-mussed, as he takes in Nines’ more casual appearance. “No jacket? I’d thought for sure it was grafted to your skin by now.”

“Hardly a hindrance seeing as I can remove my skin easily enough.”

Gavin blinks slowly. “Right...” he mutters unsurely, a bit weirded out by the thought.

Nines follows him into the apartment at a less than respectable distance. “You look well-rested,” he says and Gavin very maturely flips him the bird. The android’s lips twitch into a small smirk when Socks comes trotting up to beg for attention. “Yes, hello to you too,” Nines murmurs as he scritches beneath her chin. “You’re precious as always.”

He hears Gavin grumble “traitor” beneath his breath before disappearing into his bedroom. When he emerges a while later, he’s changed out of his loose pyjama bottoms and into something slightly more professional. Cleo trails after him and Nines sees him grab something off of the coffee table. He waves the small, pencil-shaped object around and Nines quickly identifies it as a laser pointer. Nines raises an eyebrow in a perfectly shaped arch at the evil grin on Gavin’s face. They spend some time watching the two cats zipping across the floor to try and catch the red dot without any care for furniture, walls or each other.

“They’re so dumb,” Gavin giggles as he finally pockets the device and gives the two felines a treat each and some scratches behind the ears for their troubles.

“They get that from you.”

“You come into my home! You insult my intelligence! What’s next? You’re gonna mock my sense of style too?” Gavin says sarcastically.

“What style would that be exactly? Garbage-chic?”

Gavin whirls around to point a finger at his partner accusingly. “The _audacity!_ You have no right- you wear the same fucking outfit every day!” Gavin snarks back.

“Why improve on perfection?” Nines gestures to himself just to see Gavin splutter indignantly and swear at him. The banter helps ease the tension in his shoulders, a tension he hadn’t even realised was there. “I’ll make coffee if you feed the cats,” Nines offers and Gavin shrugs easily. Still, Nines notices the glimmer of excitement in his eyes at the prospect. For all his complaints, he always seems to enjoy Nines’ coffee over his own.

They move fluidly around each other in the small kitchen and it’s borderline domestic. Again, hardly the first time it’s happened but this is the first time Nines allows himself to wonder what it would be like if he’d spent the night first. Would Gavin sidle up to him to take a peek at what Nines was doing. Maybe he’d slide his arms around Nines’ waist while sleepily burrowing his face in the fabric of his shirt or even give him a kiss in greeting. The mental image of Gavin standing up on his tip-toes to plant a kiss on his lips is distracting enough for his fingers to slip, a jerk of the hand which splashes milk onto the counter top.

“You alright?”

Nines puts the carton down hastily. “It's nothing,” he says and hands the mug over for Gavin to take. “We’ll need to leave within the next fifteen minutes or we’ll be late,” he finishes with.

Gavin frowns at him for that but doesn’t voice whatever is on his mind.

However, the interaction leaves him with an idea. While he’d previously refused to make Gavin coffee, only ever acquiescing after a rough day or for rewarding good behaviour, Nines takes to preparing him coffee every morning. As November turns to December and the bullpen steadily undergoes a transformation to looking like Santa spewed decorations everywhere, Nines decides to push his luck further.

He knocks his shoulder into Gavin’s when he’s on the way out one evening and says: “You look tired, Detective.”

“I am! Socks was being an absolute bastard and decided that zoomies at three in the morning was a good idea. Damn cat,” Gavin mutters while shrugging on his jacket.

“Oh, really? I thought it might be because you were running through my mind all day.”

Gavin stops dead in his tracks, mouth agape. “What?!”

“What?”

They stare at one another, Nines innocently and Gavin squinting with suspicion. “Weirdo,” Gavin says at last, “are you coming or not?”

Nines trails after him with a satisfied smile. Gavin’s vitals had spiked and if Nines was to test his hypothesis, Gavin having feelings for him too, then surely that was a good sign... right? At least he didn’t get cussed out or ignored, so, even if it wasn’t the exact reaction he’d been hoping for, it was better than negative feedback.

He makes the mistake of telling Gavin “be careful, the coffee is hot too,” the next morning which sends Gavin into a minutes-long coughing fit when he chokes on it. The entire bullpen is watching them by then and Nines is almost certain the redness of Gavin’s cheeks isn’t entirely from exertion. He’d been quiet enough not to draw attention to his meek attempts at flirting but that doesn’t stop Gavin from storming off in a huff.

Nines doesn’t follow him.

The next try goes even worse. He doesn’t even get halfway through his pick-up line before Gavin interrupts him. “Stop it!” he hisses while glancing around surreptitiously.

“Sorry,” Nines says, turning his gaze away, a little embarrassed. He doesn’t see the regret in Gavin’s eyes or the way he tries to gather enough courage to apologise. Instead, Nines switches the topic and ponders over the rejection. Maybe it shouldn’t surprise him too much. Despite what everyone else may think Gavin usually presented a professional-ish persona at work and Nines flirting with him on the clock is anything but.

“Coffee?” Nines asks when they’re set to leave and Gavin readily agrees. They end up in some hipster-looking shop where they’ve been experimenting with android-proof drinks alongside their array of regular beverages. It’s not on the way to Gavin’s apartment. In fact, it’s in the opposite direction, but when Nines inquires about it Gavin shrugs brusquely and says it’s his favourite store.

In his head Nines calls bullshit, though he decides not to ruin the mood by saying it out loud. Because no matter what Gavin’s vitals say, he doubts any other store could replace the mini-cupcakes Gavin regularly gets from the coffee shop down the street from his apartment. Not with the way he gushes about them. Nines has watched him cram multiple in his mouth at once, going at a dangerous pace, more often than he cares to remember.

Nevertheless, they’re here now and mutually agree to stay instead of taking the drinks with them. A silent conversation consisting of mostly raised brows and nodding.

Nines picks out a table and tracks the flurry of snowflakes falling outside. His attention is soon drawn back to Gavin when his partner throws himself down in the chair opposite him with an over-exaggerated groan. Gavin tips his mug at him. “Cheers,” he mumbles before taking a sip and then muttering something along the lines of “ow, hot,” before proceeding to take _another sip_ without even blowing away the billowing steam.

It’s not the first time it’s happened and yet Nines watches him do the same song and dance for a whole uninterrupted minute in bewildered awe. He wonders, briefly, why this dumbass human would expect different results when repeatedly performing the same action while not changing any variables. Nines tugs the warm ceramic out of Gavin’s hands and holds it close to his chest.

“The hell?!”

“You’re hurting yourself,” Nines replies, deadpan, and shifts the cup out of reach when Gavin makes a grab for it. “You’re allowed to have this back after it’s cooled down.”

“Oh, come ooon!” Gavin whines, again trying (and failing) to take back the mug.

“No.”

“Ugh, this is the weirdest fucking da-” Gavin cuts himself off abruptly and feigns a cough into his hand. “I mean, fuck, this isn’t the type of masochism I enjoy, like... slapping me around is fine but withholding my daily fix is just _cruel,_ Nines!”

Nines raises an eyebrow at the obvious deflection. “Stop being an ass and I won’t have to.”

“What?”

“Slap you,” Nines clarifies.

Gavin’s cheeks are burning and he bites back a whimper at the words. His eyes narrow when he spots the small smirk tugging at the corners of Nines’ lips and he swipes Nines’ drink from the table instead of settling down the way he meant to.

“You’re not actually dumb enough to drink that.”

“Fuck you, give me my coffee.”

“Why? You’re already sweet enough as it is,” Nines says and Gavin stutters on the next exhale.

“You are _killing_ me here!”

“Oh, believe me, if I wanted you dead you would be,” Nines grins, leaning in close so Gavin can see his pointed canines more clearly. “I quite enjoy your company so murdering you would be detrimental to my own interests.”

“You are so, so weird,” Gavin sighs and pushes the blue monstrosity of a drink back at Nines with a defeated slump of his shoulders. It earns him a small smile and after another two minutes of ribbing, Nines sets the mug back down on the table and pushes it at Gavin who snatches it off the table before moving out of Nines’ immediate range.

All in all, it’s a nice outing and Nines puts effort into making Gavin smile or laugh. He manages alright and every time he does he’s unable to stop a quiet, content sigh from slipping past his lips. Thankfully it’s swallowed by Gavin’s rough chortling before the other man can take notice.

There’s a moment, several actually, where Nines almost confesses. When the lines tugging at the corners of Gavin’s eyes are made visible by him smiling or when a lock of hair falls over his forehead which Nines reaches out to tuck behind his ear. The way Gavin looks at him then, the twinkling mirth in his eyes and the open vulnerableness, makes his thirium pump skip a beat. Now? Wouldn’t it be the perfect time? Nines would like it to be, in a way life so rarely is.

Then the moment passes and Gavin whacks his hand away with a laugh.

Nines keeps that afternoon close to his heart. A memory he calls upon often just to revel in the warm feeling spreading in his chest. He keeps up the flirting but limits it to outside of work hours and Gavin never complains about it again. Although... he doesn’t reciprocate either. Maybe he’s telling himself that Nines is just messing with him or maybe… maybe Nines has miscalculated his interest.

Only one way to find out.

-~-

It’s mid-December and work has picked up significantly in the past week. Lots of assaults, some murders, business as usual in Detroit. Gavin stands up and stretches, wincing at the loud cracking of joints, before rolling his neck from side to side. He picks his notebook up from his desk and sits down on Nines’. “Look, the way this was done, isn’t it scarily similar to the string of break-ins last month. The one’s Officer Person has been working on.”

“Except there’s a body this time.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Gavin snarks. “But apart from that is there anything else to connect them to the victim?”

Nines goes through the digital case files and frowns. “One of the women, Gracie-May Giles, is listed among the contacts in our victim’s phone. They appear to have been, well… at the very least acquaintances. Two other burglary victims work at the same firm as Ms. Sinclair did before she passed.”

“We determined the murder was pre-meditated because of the way they went about it. So maybe they were looking for her specifically? She just recently moved here, right? Maybe she was running from something, or someone?”

“I’ll help you haul the case files up from the evidence room,” Nines says while rising to his feet. “Good call, Gavin,” he adds and sees Gavin duck his head down at the praise. It’s the first lead they’ve had that might actually go somewhere.

Gavin is already several steps ahead of him but Nines quickly catches up. His partner glances over his shoulder, a smirk stretching over his face, before breaking into a sprint. Nines purses his lips and allows him a two-second head start before chasing after him.

Fowler shouts something at them but neither one of them pays him any mind seeing as they’re too busy acting like squabbling children.

He allows Gavin to beat him to the door and the victorious laughter Gavin lets out makes the inevitable taunting worth it. Though, just as quickly as the happiness settles over his features, it slips away again.

“Oh,” Gavin whispers and Nines cocks his head to the side with a raised eyebrow. Gavin flushes darker and quietly points up at the ceiling. A lump of green leaves and white berries, mistletoe, hangs above them. The implications have Nines blushing as well. No one is around, seeing as it’s hanging just inside the entrance to the evidence locker, so technically they don’t _have_ to act on it. Well... they wouldn’t have to do anything even if it was dangling over their desks in the middle of the bullpen. At least here there is no one heckling them for not abiding tradition. While Nines turns this conundrum over in his mind Gavin takes matters into his own hands.

He feels the faintest brush of lips against his cheek and Nines’ CPU freezes for a split-second.

The embarrassment in Gavin’s expression is palpable and the flush on his face deepens when Nines reciprocates. “One is enough, dipshit,” he mutters before barging down the stairs.

“Ah, it seems I must have downloaded faulty data on the tradition,” Nines offers lightly.

“It’s… fine, I didn’t mind,” Gavin says quietly and then switches the topic back to the case at hand.

After that it happens frequently and Nines even notices a pattern from Gavin’s side. The mistletoe switches place each day and yet Gavin will sidle up to him to ask his opinion on a case they’re struggling with or he’ll time them falling into step with each other when passing below one. Then, after Nines answers his questions, he’ll brush a kiss to his cheek and slink away again after Nines plants one on him in return or, in the second scenario, he’ll stop mid-sentence to point at the ceiling, an eager glint in his eye, and patiently wait for Nines to lean down.

-~-

“Do you have any plans for Christmas?” Nines asks one evening, when they’re both working late to catch up with lagging paperwork. Gavin stiffens slightly and hunches further over his keyboard.

“No.”

Nines hums. “Me neither.”

“Really?” Gavin sounds legitimately surprised at the notion, peeking up at him through his bangs. “Thought for sure that you’d spend it with Anderson and that other plastic asshole.”

“Your one-sided feud with Connor is both adorable and slightly pathetic.”

“Oi!”

“I’m not spending Christmas with them though,” Nines continues, as if Gavin hadn’t spoken at all. “They- they did ask but… I don’t know. They mean well, I just- always end up feeling like a third wheel around them.”

“Still in the honeymoon phase huh?”

“Yes.” Nines watches Gavin snicker quietly, his attention focusing back on his report. Nines bites his lip and continues: “Maybe we could spend it together, if you’d like?”

Gavin jerks his head up. “What?”

“Dinner. Yes or no?” Nines sighs.

“Will I have to endure any more headache-inducing Christmas music?”

“No.”

“Will there be anyone else but the two of us?”

“Considering neither of us have any friends… no.”

“Is this a ploy to kill me and dump my body in a gutter somewhere?”

“Of course not. The gutter isn’t really your style. I’d likely opt for a landfill.”

“WOW! OKAY, BITCH, LISTEN H-!”

“Is Detective Reed bothering you?” Connor’s placid voice pipes up and Nines smirks at the way Gavin shuts his mouth instantly, twitching violently at being startled, before scrambling away.

“What the FUCK?! Don’t sneak up on people like that you rusty hunk of scrap!” Gavin hisses, clutching his chest. He can feel his own beating heart pounding beneath his ribcage. The deadness behind Connor’s eyes, coupled with the disturbingly cheery smile curving his lips, unsettles him deeply.

“Is he?”

“I am perfectly capable of reprimanding him myself,” Nines sighs.

“Not what I asked, besides… we had a deal, remember?”

“Go away.”

“Fine,” Connor sniffs and finally breaks eye contact with Gavin who is currently pressed so far against the wall he’d meld himself to it if he backed away further. “I don’t know why I bother.”

“Well, you certainly are a bother,” Nines drawls and Connor gives him the finger as he stalks off to terrorise the next unlucky soul in his path. Nines shakes his head and sends a one-word text to his brother, simply reading: ‘Slut.’

Nines wets his bottom lip and catches Gavin’s eye again. “I know I tease you, quite a lot, but… I really do want you there, Gavin. I enjoy your company.”

“Because of my charming personality and outstanding social skills?”

“Yes, actually.” Nines cocks his head to the side, disregarding the self-deprecating tone Gavin had used entirely. “I value your friendship and all that comes with it, be it good or bad.”

“I-” Gavin breaks off and his gaze slips from Nines like raindrops from a sheet of glass. “Let me think about it.”

“Of course.”

While a biting tinge of disappointment shifts through his code Nines holds onto hope. A few more days pass before Gavin approaches him one morning, looking skittish as a colt. His jaw works around words before quietly asking if the offer is still available and Nines doesn’t hesitate for even a second. The easy acceptance visibly helps Gavin relax and Nines follows his pointed finger though he knows quite well what it means by now. Gavin has already tilted his head to present his cheek and the chaste kiss Nines presses there is followed by a second one; a kiss that lingers longer.

-~-

In the end, partially due to anxiety, he hadn’t thought Gavin would accept and now he was… kind of panicking. ‘I don’t have a table, or chairs,’ he realises as he steps inside his apartment. “Fuck,” he mutters to himself, glancing over the bare space as if it’s the first time he’s seen it. ”Fuck,” he repeats and decides the easiest thing to start with is deciding what to cook and buy ingredients for the meal and... learning how to cook.

Come to think of it, this mightn’t have been the most brilliant of ideas.

-~-

Tina is kind enough to give him some pointers and they prepare a meal together. His reason for going to her instead of his brother is simple. Connor has always been transparent with his inability to procure an edible meal. She doesn’t ask why, though she has a knowing look in her eye throughout the evening. The way she explains things calmly and with patience has Nines’ stress levels dropping significantly. “Thank you,” he says, not for the first time that evening.

Tina laughs and flaps her hand dismissively.

“No biggie. I had fun. Best student I’ve ever had,” she grins and Nines visibly perks up at the praise. “And Nines? You make sure to take care of our boy. You’re good for him, I think.” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and waits for Nines to nod before continuing: “Just… if he’s being an ass, you make sure to do what’s best for you even if it ends up hurting him. You shouldn’t compromise your own happiness for someone else’s.”

“Do you-?” Nines bites his lip nervously and starts again. “Do you think he would-?”

“I’m not going to speak on what he might have shared in confidence but... I don’t think he’ll reject you. He cares for you a great deal, even if he has a strange way of showing it.”

Nines nods his head in agreement. Gavin’s anger is usually a front for concern or to suppress other feelings, like sorrow or panic. Tina prods him in the side and Nines startles from his thoughts. “Thank you again for your help, Off- Tina,” he amends quickly when she raises an eyebrow (and a spatula). “You have my gratitude.”

“So formal.” Tina rolls her eyes fondly and pats him on the arm. “Any time, alright? You’re my friend too, dumbass.”

Those parting words echo in Nines’ mind as he walks home, catching snowflakes in his hands.

_He’s made a friend._

Nines turns his face towards the sky and smiles.

-~-

After everything is prepped, the meagre decorations he’d bought centred in the kitchen-area, Nines takes a short moment to panic over how the whole setup looks distinctly romantic. He really hadn’t intended it to be. Apparently candles have that effect especially when they’re a mix of white and dark red. Not that he has enough time to change it before there’s a knock on the door. With a small shake of his head and a slight fussing with the collar of his sleeveless turtleneck, Nines opens the door for his partner.

He’s suddenly very thankful that androids don’t need to breathe.

Gavin looks like he’s made an effort, not that Nines dislikes the tight v-necks he usually wears, by putting on a button up in a deep olive-green colour which is tucked into a pair of ridiculously tight jeans. His hair is without product and curls in a way Nines is rarely allowed to see. It looks so soft, _he_ looks soft, and in his daze, Nines reaches out to ruffle them. Gavin has an eyebrow raised by the time Nines comes back to himself. “Sorry,” he laughs awkwardly and steps aside. “You look nice.”

“Thanks, you too,” Gavin mumbles, head ducked down as he passes by him. He nervously drags a hand through his hair, tousling it further, and takes a quick glance around the place. It’s interesting to see how Nines lives though what really draws his attention is the delicious scent of food wafting from the kitchenette. He inhales deeply and glances at Nines over his shoulder. “It smells delicious!”

Nines smiles shyly and nudges him to sit down while he puts the finishing touches on their meals. It helps calm him somewhat, repetitive motions have a tendency to do that. He hums a slow tune from one of Hank’s many jazz records while he works. Connor had pulled Hank into an impromptu dancing session when it first filtered through the air on ancient speakers. In the moment he’d felt like he was intruding but now, now the memory makes him smile. His brother’s happiness is something Nines could never resent.

When he turns around with the plates Gavin has propped his elbow up on the table and is leaning his head on his hand. There’s a gentle smile curving his lips as he watches Nines putter around and he looks... peaceful.

Then, Nines puts the plate down and a series of emotions pass over Gavin’s face. “Is that coconut rice?”

“Yes, why?”

“Tina gave you the recipe for Nana's coconut rice?” Gavin asks indignantly. “I can’t believe- rude,” he sniffs and conspiratorially lowers his voice, leaning closer to Nines. “Any chance-?”

“None. Officer Chen scares me far more than you do, Gavin.”

“That’s fair,” Gavin concedes and falls back into his seat with a pout. A moment later he nudges Nines’ leg with his foot and offers him a slanted smirk. “But what if-?”

“No.”

“You didn’t even listen to what I was going to say!”

“Does it involve trading sexual favours for profit?”

“...maybe.”

Nines tries his best to suppress a smile. “Eat your food, Gavin.”

His partner sticks his tongue out at him and picks up his fork. For once he takes care not to inhale his food but rather eats at a relatively subdued pace. Nines watches him while mostly picking at his own meal and offering little by way of conversation, content in listening to Gavin ramble in-between bites. He hums or makes quiet noises of affirmation at the appropriate times to show he’s paying attention.

“Fuuuck me, this was really good,” Gavin sighs after making a decent dent in the generous amount of food Nines had prepared. He squints at Nines with a lazy smirk. “You know you’re never getting rid of me now, right?”

“I can think of worse fates,” Nines says, catching Gavin’s eye as he does so.

“Sap.”

“I fail to see how the fluid circulating in the vascular system of a plant in any way relates to this conversation.”

“You think you’re so fucking funny, don’t you?” Gavin cackles while kicking at his ankle with his sock-clad feet. “I can’t believe Cyberlife programmed you with no social module except for sass.”

“You certainly seem to enjoy it.”

“Eh, you’re alright.” Gavin shifts and stands up with a groan. “Stay there!” he barks when Nines moves as if to follow and Nines answers the order by glowering at him. “Please?” Gavin tacks on quickly just in case his partner decides to retract his earlier promise not to kill him.

Nines stays where he is.

He hears rustling behind his back, the crinkling of a plastic bag, before Gavin’s soft footfalls make a reappearance. “I- uh, I got this for you,” Gavin says quietly, turning the square box over in his hands before hesitantly offering it to Nines. “Merry Christmas.”

“I- didn’t get you anything,” Nines says, regret colouring his tone as he reverently accepts the gift.

Gavin shrugs. “You cooked me dinner. And you put up with my bullshit. I wouldn’t call that nothing.”

“You’re too hard on yourself.” He doesn’t elaborate further and Gavin grows distracted from arguing when Nines delicately flicks the tape open and unravels the wrapping paper. The box is plain, something old Gavin must have had lying around and, when Nines scans it, there’s only Gavin’s fingerprints to be found. Dust, cat hair, oils from Gavin’s ski-

“Oh, for fuck’s- just fucking open it instead of trying to deduct what it is, dipshit!”

Nines turns his nose up even while obediently ripping open the tape holding it shut. Inside, surrounded by coloured paper, rests a small, thin notepad. He lifts it up and notices smudges of ink on the otherwise pristine paper. It makes a ‘rrrrr’-ing sound topped with a snap when he lets the pages to sift under his fingertips. It allows him to skim over its contents. Words flicker across his HUD, fragmented tidbits of information, before he goes back to the start and reads through it slower. In his peripheral vision, Gavin grows tenser by the second.

_I’ll put my feet down from my desk the first time you ask._

_This ticket is redeemable for one hour of complete silence (to the best of my abilities, don’t expect wonders)._

_I’ll agree with and/or defend you in public if you need someone to back you up._

_One (1) hug, should you ever need it._

He reads them, one after the other, and each one sends a jolt of warmth to Nines’ core. ‘The last few pages must have been hard for him to write,’ Nines realises when he sees words or whole sentences crossed out before being re-written. The last page being the worst by far. Some sections have been scrawled over enough times to almost tear through the paper, leaving black smudges where words used to be. Nines’ processors stutter when he reads the tiny script at the very bottom of the page.

I██ █████ █ ████ ███ █████ █ █████ █ ███ ██ ███   
█l ██ █████ █o███ ███ █████ve █ █████ █ ███ ██ ███   
█ ██ █████ █ ████ ███y █████ █ █████ █ ███ou ██ ███   
~~_I’ll be your partner, like romantically or whatever, for an indefinite amount of time._ ~~  
~~_I’ll be your partner, like romantically or whatever, for an indefinite amount of time._ ~~

_I’ll be your partner, like romantically or whatever, for an indefinite amount of time._

Nines stares at the page, wrinkled and nearly blacked out entirely, before very gently tearing the page from its spine, adding a second one beneath it, and sliding the combination across the table for Gavin to take. “I would like to redeem these two, please,” Nines says with a smile and the tension bleeds out of Gavin’s shoulders when he reads them over.

“Fucking finally,” he sighs and leans over the table, reaching a hand out to tug Nines in by that ridiculously attractive shirt of his. Easier to mash their lips together in a kiss that way. It starts out passionately, with teeth and tongue and months of repressed desire poured into that single point of contact. Once they’ve had their fill it shifts into something gentle and sweet instead. Gavin doesn’t stop even when his back begins to ache under the strain of his awkward position because Nines’ lips are so soft and plush and like an absolute dork he doesn’t close his eyes when he kisses Gavin breathless and…

...and Gavin has wanted this for far longer than he dares to admit.

So, he places his hand over Nines’ eyes and happily swallows the resulting laughter with a smile of his own.

**Author's Note:**

> Nines flirting with him at work is Not Acceptable but Gavin smooching Nines on the cheek is because it's Tradition™. Comments and kudos are always appreciated!  
> [Come talk to me on tumblr, maybe?](https//:allegedlyanandroid.tumblr.com)


End file.
